IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/bla/revinw/v70y2024i1p129-153.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The Role of Banks in Shaping Income Inequality: A Within‐Country Study

Author

Listed:
  • Paolo Coccorese
  • Roberto Dell'Anno

Abstract

This paper investigates the role of banks in shaping income inequality. We extend the current literature on the banking–inequality nexus by examining a sample of 103 Italian provinces for the period 2000–2018. We find that a higher banking development decreases income inequality. From a methodological viewpoint, we aim to contribute to the current literature by both adjusting the index of income inequality for the presence of tax evasion in income data and applying different estimation approaches to control for endogeneity. Some policy implications emerge from the findings of this study.

Suggested Citation

  • Paolo Coccorese & Roberto Dell'Anno, 2024. "The Role of Banks in Shaping Income Inequality: A Within‐Country Study," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 70(1), pages 129-153, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:70:y:2024:i:1:p:129-153
    DOI: 10.1111/roiw.12629
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://doi.org/10.1111/roiw.12629
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1111/roiw.12629?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Rémi Bazillier & Jérôme Hericourt, 2017. "The Circular Relationship Between Inequality, Leverage, And Financial Crises," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 463-496, April.
    2. Manthos D. Delis & Iftekhar Hasan & Nikolaos Mylonidis, 2020. "Foreign bank ownership and income inequality: empirical evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 52(11), pages 1240-1258, March.
    3. Kim, Dong-Hyeon & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2011. "Nonlinearity in the financial developmentâincome inequality nexus," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 39(3), pages 310-325, September.
    4. Greenwood, Jeremy & Jovanovic, Boyan, 1990. "Financial Development, Growth, and the Distribution of Income," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 98(5), pages 1076-1107, October.
    5. David Roodman, 2009. "How to do xtabond2: An introduction to difference and system GMM in Stata," Stata Journal, StataCorp LP, vol. 9(1), pages 86-136, March.
    6. Oded Galor & Joseph Zeira, 1993. "Income Distribution and Macroeconomics," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 60(1), pages 35-52.
    7. Gimet, Céline & Lagoarde-Segot, Thomas, 2011. "A closer look at financial development and income distribution," Journal of Banking & Finance, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1698-1713, July.
    8. Ross Levine & Norman Loayza & Thorsten Beck, 2002. "Financial Intermediation and Growth: Causality and Causes," Central Banking, Analysis, and Economic Policies Book Series, in: Leonardo Hernández & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel & Norman Loayza (Series Editor) & Klaus Schmidt-Hebbel (Se (ed.),Banking, Financial Integration, and International Crises, edition 1, volume 3, chapter 2, pages 031-084, Central Bank of Chile.
    9. Seven, Unal & Coskun, Yener, 2016. "Does financial development reduce income inequality and poverty? Evidence from emerging countries," Emerging Markets Review, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 34-63.
    10. Nicola Cetorelli & Philip E. Strahan, 2006. "Finance as a Barrier to Entry: Bank Competition and Industry Structure in Local U.S. Markets," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 61(1), pages 437-461, February.
    11. Ross Levine, 1997. "Financial Development and Economic Growth: Views and Agenda," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 35(2), pages 688-726, June.
    12. Marta de la Cuesta-González & Cristina Ruza & José M. Rodríguez-Fernández, 2020. "Rethinking the Income Inequality and Financial Development Nexus. A Study of Nine OECD Countries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-18, July.
    13. King, Robert G. & Levine, Ross, 1993. "Finance, entrepreneurship and growth: Theory and evidence," Journal of Monetary Economics, Elsevier, vol. 32(3), pages 513-542, December.
    14. George R. G. Clarke & Lixin Colin Xu & Heng‐fu Zou, 2006. "Finance and Income Inequality: What Do the Data Tell Us?," Southern Economic Journal, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 72(3), pages 578-596, January.
    15. Asli Demirgüç-Kunt & Ross Levine, 2009. "Finance and Inequality: Theory and Evidence," Annual Review of Financial Economics, Annual Reviews, vol. 1(1), pages 287-318, November.
    16. Blundell, Richard & Bond, Stephen, 1998. "Initial conditions and moment restrictions in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 87(1), pages 115-143, August.
    17. Thang Cong Nguyen & Tan Ngoc Vu & Duc Hong Vo & Dao Thi-Thieu Ha, 2019. "Financial Development and Income Inequality in Emerging Markets: A New Approach," JRFM, MDPI, vol. 12(4), pages 1-14, November.
    18. Berger, Allen N & Udell, Gregory F, 1995. "Relationship Lending and Lines of Credit in Small Firm Finance," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 68(3), pages 351-381, July.
    19. Ayse Demir & Vanesa Pesqué-Cela & Yener Altunbas & Victor Murinde, 2022. "Fintech, financial inclusion and income inequality: a quantile regression approach," The European Journal of Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 28(1), pages 86-107, January.
    20. Nickell, Stephen J, 1981. "Biases in Dynamic Models with Fixed Effects," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 49(6), pages 1417-1426, November.
    21. Jauch, Sebastian & Watzka, Sebastian, 2016. "Financial development and income inequality: a panel data approach," Munich Reprints in Economics 43505, University of Munich, Department of Economics.
    22. Florence Jaumotte & Subir Lall & Chris Papageorgiou, 2013. "Rising Income Inequality: Technology, or Trade and Financial Globalization?," IMF Economic Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Monetary Fund, vol. 61(2), pages 271-309, June.
    23. Durlauf, Steven N, 1996. "A Theory of Persistent Income Inequality," Journal of Economic Growth, Springer, vol. 1(1), pages 75-93, March.
    24. Davide Furceri & Jonathan D Ostry, 2019. "Robust determinants of income inequality," Oxford Review of Economic Policy, Oxford University Press and Oxford Review of Economic Policy Limited, vol. 35(3), pages 490-517.
    25. Benjamin Born & Jörg Breitung, 2016. "Testing for Serial Correlation in Fixed-Effects Panel Data Models," Econometric Reviews, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 35(7), pages 1290-1316, August.
    26. Roine, Jesper & Vlachos, Jonas & Waldenström, Daniel, 2009. "The long-run determinants of inequality: What can we learn from top income data?," Journal of Public Economics, Elsevier, vol. 93(7-8), pages 974-988, August.
    27. Sandra E. Black & Philip E. Strahan, 2002. "Entrepreneurship and Bank Credit Availability," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 57(6), pages 2807-2833, December.
    28. Robin Burgess & Rohini Pande & Grace Wong, 2005. "Banking for the Poor: Evidence From India," Journal of the European Economic Association, MIT Press, vol. 3(2-3), pages 268-278, 04/05.
    29. D’Onofrio, Alexandra & Minetti, Raoul & Murro, Pierluigi, 2019. "Banking development, socioeconomic structure and income inequality," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 428-451.
    30. Madhu Sehrawat & A K Giri, 2015. "Financial development and income inequality in India: an application of ARDL approach," International Journal of Social Economics, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(1), pages 64-81, January.
    31. A. P. Lerner, 1934. "The Concept of Monopoly and the Measurement of Monopoly Power," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 1(3), pages 157-175.
    32. Manuel Arellano & Stephen Bond, 1991. "Some Tests of Specification for Panel Data: Monte Carlo Evidence and an Application to Employment Equations," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 58(2), pages 277-297.
    33. Rémi Bazillier & Jérôme Hericourt, 2017. "The Circular Relationship Between Inequality, Leverage, And Financial Crises," Journal of Economic Surveys, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(2), pages 463-496, April.
    34. Breitung, Jörg & Kripfganz, Sebastian & Hayakawa, Kazuhiko, 2022. "Bias-corrected method of moments estimators for dynamic panel data models," Econometrics and Statistics, Elsevier, vol. 24(C), pages 116-132.
    35. Claessens, Stijn & Perotti, Enrico, 2007. "Finance and inequality: Channels and evidence," Journal of Comparative Economics, Elsevier, vol. 35(4), pages 748-773, December.
    36. Petersen, Mitchell A & Rajan, Raghuram G, 1994. "The Benefits of Lending Relationships: Evidence from Small Business Data," Journal of Finance, American Finance Association, vol. 49(1), pages 3-37, March.
    37. Kiviet, Jan F., 1995. "On bias, inconsistency, and efficiency of various estimators in dynamic panel data models," Journal of Econometrics, Elsevier, vol. 68(1), pages 53-78, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Dirk Bezemer & Anna Samarina, 2019. "Debt shift, financial development and income inequality," DNB Working Papers 646, Netherlands Central Bank, Research Department.
    2. Brei, Michael & Ferri, Giovanni & Gambacorta, Leonardo, 2023. "Financial structure and income inequality," Journal of International Money and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 131(C).
    3. Hsieh, Joyce & Chen, Ting-Cih & Lin, Shu-Chin, 2019. "Financial structure, bank competition and income inequality," The North American Journal of Economics and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 450-466.
    4. Roya Taherifar & Mark J. Holmes & Gazi M. Hassan, 2023. "Does economic openness matter in the impact of financial development on income inequality?," Working Papers in Economics 23/04, University of Waikato.
    5. Gislain Stéphane Gandjon Fankem & Marthe Dorelle Melingui, 2021. "Le développement financier affecte‐t‐il l'inégalité de revenus en Afrique subsaharienne?," African Development Review, African Development Bank, vol. 33(4), pages 620-633, December.
    6. Ricardo Barradas & Rishi Lakhani, 2024. "The finance–inequality nexus in the era of financialisation: Evidence for Portugal," International Journal of Finance & Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 29(3), pages 3510-3544, July.
    7. Ọláyínká Oyèkọ́lá, 2021. "Finance and inequality in a panel of US States," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 61(5), pages 2739-2795, November.
    8. Dong-Hyeon Kim & Joyce Hsieh & Shu-Chin Lin, 2021. "Financial liberalization, political institutions, and income inequality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(3), pages 1245-1281, March.
    9. Ricardo Barradas, 2023. "Why Has Labor Productivity Slowed Down in the Era of Financialization?: Insights from the Post-Keynesians for the European Union Countries," Review of Radical Political Economics, Union for Radical Political Economics, vol. 55(3), pages 390-422, September.
    10. Sofia Vale & Francisco Camões, 2023. "Households’ Exposure to the Financial Sector as a Driver of Inequality: An Analysis of Advanced and Emerging Economies," Comparative Economic Studies, Palgrave Macmillan;Association for Comparative Economic Studies, vol. 65(2), pages 362-402, June.
    11. Nokulunga Mbona, 2022. "Impacts of Overall Financial Development, Access and Depth on Income Inequality," Economies, MDPI, vol. 10(5), pages 1-23, May.
    12. Cong Minh Huynh & Nam Hoai Tran, 2023. "Financial development, income inequality, and institutional quality: A multi-dimensional analysis," Cogent Economics & Finance, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 11(2), pages 2242128-224, June.
    13. Blau, Benjamin M., 2018. "Income inequality, poverty, and the liquidity of stock markets," Journal of Development Economics, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 113-126.
    14. Jonathan D. Ostry & Andrew Berg & Siddharth Kothari, 2021. "Growth‐equity trade‐offs in structural reforms," Scottish Journal of Political Economy, Scottish Economic Society, vol. 68(2), pages 209-237, May.
    15. Yousef Makhlouf & Neil M. Kellard & Dmitri V. Vinogradov, 2020. "Finance‐Inequality Nexus: The Long And The Short Of It," Economic Inquiry, Western Economic Association International, vol. 58(4), pages 1977-1994, October.
    16. Péter Benczúr & Virmantas Kvedaras, 2021. "Nonlinear impact of financial deepening on income inequality," Empirical Economics, Springer, vol. 60(4), pages 1939-1967, April.
    17. Altunbaş, Yener & Thornton, John, 2020. "Finance and income inequality revisited," Finance Research Letters, Elsevier, vol. 37(C).
    18. Benfratello, Luigi & Schiantarelli, Fabio & Sembenelli, Alessandro, 2008. "Banks and innovation: Microeconometric evidence on Italian firms," Journal of Financial Economics, Elsevier, vol. 90(2), pages 197-217, November.
    19. Baiardi, Donatella & Morana, Claudio, 2018. "Financial development and income distribution inequality in the euro area," Economic Modelling, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 40-55.
    20. Meniago, Christelle & Asongu, Simplice A., 2018. "Revisiting the finance-inequality nexus in a panel of African countries," Research in International Business and Finance, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 399-419.

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:bla:revinw:v:70:y:2024:i:1:p:129-153. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Wiley Content Delivery (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://edirc.repec.org/data/iariwea.html .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.